Chief of Staff, Contest Every Race

Movement Labs • Washington, DC

5d • Remote

About The Position

Contest Every Race (CER) is dedicated to making Democrats competitive everywhere by building durable political power from the ground up. As the leading candidate recruitment program and largest long-term organizing program for Democrats, CER has engaged with a significant portion of local party committees and recruited over 15,000 candidates to run in uncontested races. The organization also provides crucial funding and infrastructure to support local Democratic Parties in their year-round community work.

The Chief of Staff is a vital senior role, serving as an organizational integrator and strategic partner to the Executive Director (ED) of Contest Every Race. This role is responsible for managing CER's operational rhythm, including quarterly planning, retreats, all-hands meetings, and performance reviews. The Chief of Staff will also be involved in drafting and revising proposals, tracking organizational priorities and deadlines using systems like Asana, and ensuring effective communication of key decisions and updates across all levels of the organization. Approximately 60% of the role focuses on information management, organizational rhythm, and planning, while the remaining 40% supports the ED with development-related tasks. This is a coordination-focused role, emphasizing smooth information and deadline flow rather than direct supervision of staff.

Requirements

• Operated at a senior level in a fast-moving political or nonprofit environment, working closely with a principal, and gets genuine satisfaction from building the systems and structure that make a high-performing leader and organization work better.
• Expert at up-managing and proactively solving problems - you follow up, change your approach, and keep pushing until you get the answers needed.
• 5-7 years of work experience, with 4+ years of relevant experience working directly with leadership in political campaigns, organizing, nonprofit operations, or government.
• Proven track record supporting senior leaders or managing organizational operations.
• Operational instincts: you can hold a lot of context, anticipate what’s needed, and act without being asked.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; can write clearly and concisely in someone else’s voice.
• Strong relationship skills and lateral leadership, ease to influence and coordinate peers.
• Fluency with Google Suite and donor/constituent CRM tools (EveryAction, NGP, or equivalent).
• Deep commitment to Democratic politics and the belief we can make the system better.
• Comfort working inside an evidence-driven, experiment-first culture where not everything works and that’s okay.
• Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States. We are not able to provide sponsorship at this time.

Nice To Haves

• Experience as a Campaign Manager, Chief of Staff, or Finance Director, senior executive assistant to a principal.
• Understanding of Democratic Party infrastructure (county parties, state parties, national committees).
• Familiarity with organizing programs and digital mobilization programs.
• Experience in development, donor relations, or major gifts fundraising.

Responsibilities

• Track internal and external deadlines across CER’s programs and projects, ensuring deadlines set by ED and ML senior leadership are clearly communicated to Directors and that Directors have what they need to hit their goals.
• Surface risks or delays to the Executive Director as they arise, and decide when to escalate.
• Ensure key organizational information and decisions are documented and kept up to date at the appropriate cadence, requiring strong communication skills and coordination with CER leadership and deputy directors.
• Build and improve processes, implement project management tools to optimize tracking and reporting.
• Ensure relevant stakeholders, from Directors to the most junior team members, have access to the information and timelines they need, when they need it, synthesizing organization-relevant updates and pushing them down through the team as appropriate.
• Represent the views of the Executive Director when needed.
• Own CER’s operating cadence: quarterly planning, team retreats, all-hands meetings, and performance reviews.
• Support alignment and communication with CEO, leadership team and potential board members.
• Track organizational priorities and blockers in systems like Asana, ensuring the team is moving against them and surfacing risks early.
• Manage the ED’s strategic to-do list and ensure it reflects current priorities.
• Partner with the Development team to follow up on and execute action items after donor calls and meetings, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
• Work between the Executive Director and the Development team to turn program ideas into final, polished proposals ready to ship to donors and funders.
• Track open commitments and action items from the ED’s meetings and calls; surface what needs attention and resolve what doesn’t.

Benefits

• Annual salary of $100,000-$110,000 (level 5), based on experience, as part of a transparent salary structure with clear levels of advancement.
• A geographic COLA based on employee location.
• A work-life stipend of $700/month pre-tax dollars to support employees during our highest intensity work period (starting August 1, prorated for partial months).
• Excellent health, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) matching.
• Unlimited Paid Time Off (vacation time is limited during Election Sprint, August 24-November 3).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed